The invention relates to a method of operating a parking facility for motor vehicles that comprises fixed parking places arranged above each other and each having a guide for a pallet that is displaceable along the guide as well as a lift, which is disposed alongside the fixed parking places and also carries a guide for a pallet displaceable therein, in which method for displacement of a pallet between the guide of a fixed parking place and the guide of the lift the lift is stopped in such a way alongside a fixed parking place that the guides of the fixed parking place and of the lift are aligned with one another, wherein the guide of the lift at its end facing the fixed parking place is supported on a supporting surface connected to the fixed parking place.
In such parking facilities motor vehicles are moved in an entry station onto a pallet, and this pallet together with the motor vehicle positioned thereon is displaced into the lift, which then firstly lifts or lowers and secondly optionally also additionally laterally displaces the pallet with the motor vehicle so that the pallet disposed on the lift may be positioned opposite a fixed parking place, into which the pallet together with the motor vehicle positioned thereon is to be pushed.
In this way each parking place of the rack-like parking place arrangement may be reached so that the pallet carrying the motor vehicle can, after alignment with the parking place, be pushed with the motor vehicle into the parking place.
A problem here is reliable alignment of the guide for the pallet on the lift, on the one hand, and the guide for the pallet in the fixed parking place, on the other hand. Admittedly, this alignment may be improved by placing the end of the guide of the lift facing the parking place onto a supporting surface connected in a fixed manner to the parking place but then problems arise if the lift does not exactly reach the necessary height alongside a parking place to be approached. Such inaccuracies of the positioning of the lift may readily occur, firstly as a result of different loading of the lift with various motor vehicles and secondly also as a result of the high lifting speeds, that are conventionally used to reduce the conveying times, and/or wear phenomena of the lift.
The object of the invention is to develop a method of the described type in such a way that the guide of the lift may easily be aligned precisely with the guide of the parking place to be approached.